Exposure to environmental heat outdoor · Effects of heat n.e.c.
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at VCA Kirkwood Animal Hospital, 1501 Capitol Trail, NEWARK, DELAWARE 19711
on — Effects of heat n.e.c., affecting the BODY SYSTEMS .
Final narrative
On August 6, 2024, an employee was performing landscaping duties when he began to feel ill. He was hospitalized for dehydration due to working in the heat.
On October 7, 2025, employee was installing mulch with a landscape crew. At around 2:15 PM, the employee took a break and started to feel cramping/pain. The employee was taken to the hospital with rhabdomyolysis due to heat exhaustion.
A temporary employee was on top of a cane wagon, throwing cane down to the ground (i.e., planting). He reached the end of the field row and started to feel ill. He experienced cramping and headaches due to heat exhaustion.
An employee was restraining a cat that was thrashing in its cage while recovering from anesthesia so the veterinarian could administer sedation. The cat bit the employee on their left thumb, resulting in hospitalization due to an infection.
A client arrived for an appointment and was getting out of their car when their cat carrier broke and their cat went under the car and into the engine area. The injured employee was able to scruff the cat and started to pull it out. The cat scratched and bit the employee's hands. One wound was close to a knuckle and immediately started to swell. The employee was hospitalized for treatment.
An employee was holding the leash for a large dog. The dog panicked and pulled on the leash, causing the employee to fall forward to the ground. She suffered a broken kneecap and was hospitalized.
A flagger was directing traffic flow in a highway work zone. They were standing approximately 1.5 feet behind the shoulder's demarcating line, next to and slightly behind a traffic drum. As they were directing traffic into and out of the driveway of a parking lot, a car attempted to get around a truck and struck the traffic drum, which subsequently struck the employee, who was thrown 15 feet and landed on top of concrete aggregate. The employee suffered pelvic and rib fractures, T10 and L3 vertebra fractures, and internal bleeding.
An employee was troubleshooting a power washer in the field. Because there might have been water in its fuel, he brought it back to the shop and drained about a gallon of fuel from the tank into a plastic container. Some of the fuel spilled onto the floor and ignited. The employee was stomping out the fire when he lost his balance and tripped into a stool, which caused the plastic container to spill more fuel onto the fire. The employee's pants and shirt caught on fire, and he fell, abrading his knee while trying to get through the flames. As well as the knee abrasion, he suffered burns to the left leg and left lower quadrant of the torso. He was hospitalized.
An employee was backing up a tram (towing powered industrial equipment) to connect it to a trash bin. The employee's left forearm/wrist was caught and crushed between the tram and the bin. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee went to lift a carton and tripped on a different carton that was on the floor. She fell on the floor in the backroom and sustained a fractured right hip, and abrasions to her arm and knee. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.